1st National Meeting of the EGY, THA and TUR HOWs
From AFSWiki
US Members of the Egypt, Turkey and Thailand Hosting Orientation Work Groups met November 6-8, 2009 at the Maritime Institute of Technology near Baltimore, Maryland. Each group is working with a team of volunteers in the target country to produce orientation materials for families hosting students from the other country. For more information see Hosting Orientation Work Group
Highlights of the weekend included an overview of the YES Program from YES Specialist, Tamara Jazbec, many lively discussions on culture differences and similarities among the target countries and the USA, related implications for host families and a preview of Global Link presented by Global Link Super User and leader of the THA HOW, Al Russell.
Al and fellow co-leaders of the TUR HOW, Lynn Whetstone and of the EGY HOW, Mary Kay Robinson, lead their respective teams through the revision of draft orientation materials and cultural presentations. One Turkish group member who was out of the country joined via the free video conferencing and screen sharing capabilities of Skype.
This winter the HOWs will focus on drafting the handbooks and case studies that will be made available to NH 10-11 host families and volunteers in YES Consortium member organizations. In March the groups will be joined by their international counterparts at the time of the ECA (Sponsored Programs) Workshop, near Washington DC when they will put the finishing touches on these materials.
My special thanks to all of the volunteers involved in the HOWs and to Sponsored Program staff for their support of the project.
Robin Weber
Manager Intercultural Education and Quality
